The World of Human and non-Human Animals
Tiger is the largest (and the strongest!) of the wild cat family. And these are not the only advantageous features of this majestic creature. With the largest brain compared to other cats, tigers are the most intelligent of all the big cats. They have a very good memory that is times better than other animals, including humans. ..
Octopus – a different model of intelligence The octopus is the most intelligent of all invertebrates and one of the most intelligent among other animals. Nine brains? The octopus head contains a very large brain. Relative to the body weight, the brain of an octopus is the biggest of all invertebrates and is similar to that of other intelligent animals. The octopus nervous system contains 500mln neurons (about as many as that of a dog) but unlike the nervous system of mammals, the majority of an octopus’s neurons lie outside the central brain...
Some autistic individuals are said to have intellectual disability. This claim is based on the results of standard IQ tests. The key word here is 'standard': the IQ tests are designed to determine whether a person is developing within 'normal' range or is 'slow' or 'stuck' in his or her development. However, as autistic individuals... Continue Reading →
One of the dictionary definitions: “Cow (derogative) – a woman, especially a course or unpleasant one.” Why do we use the word ‘cow’ when we want to offend someone? If you hear someone calling a woman ‘silly cow’, make them apologize at once! Cows are very sensitive, intelligent and affectionate creatures! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knzBtZNBk9w
In Asian cultures elephants are admired for their intelligence and good memory. They symbolise wisdom and royal power. There are numerous myths and stories in Asian lore, in which the main characters are elephants. For many centuries, elephants have been accorded superhuman abilities. According to Indian mythology, the gods (deva) and the demons (asura) searched... Continue Reading →
Just because humans (HSs) do not know (and cannot imagine) animals' abilities, and always judge them by human standards does not mean animals (nHSs) are of lower intelligence. Intelligence is a relative notion. There are many vague definitions of it that can be summarised as: 'Intelligence is what we measure with intelligence tests'. I'd define... Continue Reading →
In the beginning of the twentieth century, a retired German mathematics teacher discovered what he thought to be amazing capabilities and human-like intelligence in his horse Hans. Hans seemed to know many facts from different discipline and could answer questions (by tapping his foot an appropriate number of times to indicate the right answer.). The... Continue Reading →
Anthropomorphism: the attribution of human behaviour or personality to non-human animals. Some (both scholars and non-scholars) still insist that we shouldn’t anthropomorphise animals because they are inferior to humans in thinking, feeling, communicating, etc., etc., etc. The reasoning for this assumption is often circular: “Consciousness is assumed in advance to be uniquely human, and any... Continue Reading →
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